With those two events in the past, now is the time to wrap up my Jan-Feb-Mar travel blogs. I left the Florida Keys on March 16, taking I-10 west until I veered north at Phoenix to spend a bit of time with friends in the Prescott National Forest. Then I had a short visit with a couple of my other brothers in Orange County before going north on I-5 toward Washington State.

Last few nights in the Keys were spent on the dock while brother Gary
tried to catch another shark. 3/10/14

﻿

Folks launched lanterns from the dock ...

﻿

The gentle breeze carried them
over the water ...

until they were just a
small point in the black sky.
3/10/14

﻿﻿

On my westward drive on I-10, I spent a day in southwest Louisiana to
explore the Creole Nature Trail, a loop within the "Louisiana Outback,"
south of Lake Charles to the Gulf of Mexico. 3/19/14

I find that my travels often have a theme or purpose. Sometimes I know what those are prior to leaving. This time I didn't. This time I discovered them in the midst of my travels. One discovery was that I want to be a snowbird, spending winters in the dry heat of the desert southwest (vs. the warm humidity of Florida). And an unexpected purpose was to reconnect with each of my 4 brothers -- Ray in CA in January; Gary in FL in early March; and Glen & Kyle in SoCal in late March -- what a nice treat!﻿﻿

I joined some of my friends in the Prescott National Forest
near Cottonwood. 3/23/14

I was weary from driving; camping in nature feeds my soul. 3/23/14

A couple of sub-themes popped up too. One was tornadoes -- advisories, watches, and warnings -- in SW Louisiana, in the Keys, on I-75 in western Florida, and finally on I-5 in northern California (west of Chico). Twice I saw wall clouds (FL Keys & CA); both times I was in awe; neither time did I see any rotation.

Another sub-theme is that I re-learned that I can have a first experience only once. In 2012 I did a slow mosey along the Gulf Coast. I was amazed at the flora and fauna of the wet lands -- swamps, everglades, bayous -- really taking it all in, really loving it. I so wanted to re-live that adventure, exploring the Creole Trail in Louisiana and the Loop Road in Big Cypress National Preserve. Although I enjoyed retracing my steps, I didn't experience that same sense of discovery. And that's OK as it was still very beautiful and amazing; and I've many other places I can go to for the first time; discovery is fun!

Here are some photos from 2012 of places which I got to re-experience in 2014:

Been reading your blog for years, met you at the RTR. I can't remember, do you have the prius with solar cells on top or not? I just got back from my cross country with a 2007 prius. Had a blast. Mine doesn't have solar on top. Can I still run the a/c at night? Terry:)

Hi Terry, I don't have any solar on my Prius (never had). And, yes, you don't need solar to run the AC at night. Just put it in "READY" mode, in Park, crack the windows and set the AC to the temp that you desire. The lower you set it, the more your Prius will need to run to keep the batteries charged up.

I would love to hear about your trip. Did you take your dog? How did that work out for you?

Well, I had a great time! But I wasn't prepared. One day in May, I was watching the price is right, and I said to myself, is this how I'm going to spend my Summer? So I packed 3 bags for Lucy, and one for me. (Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.) if I actually had some organization skills, would have been a much better trip! I bought the habitent and enjoyed it, of course, only used on military bases, when it is safe. Not sure if I would use it, being a lone woman, in the wilderness. Of course, Lucy is a good growler, very stealthy! Let's me know, but not others.

Welcome

I travel full time in my Toyota Prius. I started as a part-timer from 09-'16. I call it my "Prius RV" because it's fully self contained. After some early tests, I became totally hooked on being in nature, shunpiking (taking back roads), and exploring local histories, cultures & geology.

-Oct '09: Test trip, Yosemite NP,

-Apr-Sept '10: US National Parks,

-Summer '11: US West Coast,

-Winter '12: US Gulf Coast,

-Summer '13: Short trips with hubby,

-Winter '14: Family & friends, CA-FL,

-Feb-May '15: Snowbird, AZ-UT,

-Fall '15: Family & friends, CA-AZ,

-Winter '16: Friends camping in SW,

-Winter '17: US Southwest

I hope you enjoy these posts of my travels. If you'd like details about how I live out of my Prius, see the links directly below.